Term | Definition |
ecosystem | contains all of the organisms and their nonliving surrounding environment |
biotic factors | the living parts of an ecosystem |
abiotic factors | the nonliving parts of an ecosystem |
organism | any living thing |
unicellular | an organism that is made up of only one cell |
multicellular | an organism that is made up of more than one or many cells |
cell | the smallest unit of life |
organelles | the basic structures in a cell that help it function |
cell membrane | the "guard", the soft, flexible outside covering of a cell that controls what comes in and out of a cell |
cytoplasm | the "jello", gel-like fluid that fills most of a cell, holds the other organelles in place |
nucleus | the "boss" or the "brain", controls everything the cell does |
vacuole | the "closet", the storage spaces in the cell that hold food/nutrients, water, and waste |
mitochondria | the "power plant", breaks down food in the cell and provides energy for the other organelles |
cell wall | only found in plant cells, provides extra support outside the cell membrane |
chloroplast | only found in plant cells, contains chlorophyll to give plants their green color |
population | all members of ONE kind of organism that live in a particular area |
community | a group of different populations of organisms |
microorganisms | living things that can be unicellular or multicellular that are too small to be seen without a microscope |
terrestrial ecosystems | land-based ecosystems (include grasslands and forests) |
aquatic ecosystems | water-based ecosystems that may be fresh water (lakes and ponds) or salt water (oceans, estuaries, and saltwater marshes) |
producers | plants, can use light energy from the sun(photosynthesis) to make their own food |
consumers | animals, cannot make their own food |
herbivores | animals that eat only plants |
carnivores | animals that eat only animals or meat |
omnivores | animals that eat both animals and plants |
decomposers | get their energy by breaking down dead organisms, return nutrients to the soil |
food chain | a series of plants and animals in which each organism is a source of food/energy for the next in the series |
food web | formed by interconnected food chains |
predators | animals that hunt and kill other animals for food |
prey | animals that are hunted and killed as food for other animals |
parasite | an organism that feeds by causing harm to its host |
host | organisms or cells that serve as a home or source of food for a parasite |
limiting factor | a condition or resource that keeps a population at a certain size (food, water, space, shelter) |
balance of nature | relationship between numbers of organisms and the resources available in an ecosystem |